I spoke with him a few times as well - I have one of his Buffalo Horn howlers, and a giant Cow Horn. Easy blowing, easy control, smooth tone boards, and volume like crazy. Whatever fairy dust he poured onto them sure worked!
Around 2012, an out of state customer invited me to call coyotes with him and some buddies while I was stuck on the road for weeks at a time. During one of our trips, we stopped to chat with a local farmer along a backroad, and as they introduced me, the farmer cut us off and exclaimed - “is that a Cronk Buffalo horn?” I had my calls still around my neck, and on some random backroad in rural Iowa, this farmer knew Rich’s work by sight.